


Diamonds Do Appear To Be

by 1Temmie_Official1



Series: Northern Downpour Sends Its Love [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And trans, Arranged Marriage, Betrothal Necklace (Avatar), Brown Haired Yue (Avatar), Engagement, Established Relationship, Established Yue/Zuko (Avatar), F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Long-Haired Zuko (Avatar), Minor Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Nonbinary Mai (Avatar), Rated T for swearing, Title Based on a Panic! at the Disco Song, Trans Zuko (Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar) has ADHD, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, except it's not because Zuko is bi, fight me, spoilers but hahn gets punched in the face as he deserves, this is the straighest thing I've written, well its in the in between growing phase but still its longish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26905027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1Temmie_Official1/pseuds/1Temmie_Official1
Summary: Zuko learns he's getting engaged- luckily to a person he want to marry. But now he has to face a difficult task: following his betrothed's wedding traditions and carving her a necklace.
Relationships: Yue/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Northern Downpour Sends Its Love [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957609
Comments: 8
Kudos: 70





	1. Jewelry To The Sea

"We're _WHAT_?!" Zuko and Yue screamed in unison. Iroh and Arnook both stood, though the latter looked slightly more guilty. Yue paused for a moment.

"It's better than getting married to Hahn," she pointed out. Zuko opened his mouth to protest, contemplated, then agreed.

"Yeah, that's reasonable." His face went back to its previous rage. "But, Uncle, what the fu- I mean why!"

Uncle motioned to both of them. "Well, if I wasn't mistaken, you two are in a romantic relationship?"

Zuko flushed in embarrassment. "Well, yeah, but- how did you know about that?"

Iroh motioned to them. Fair point.

Yue frowned. "But what about our traditions?"

Arnook waved a hand. "We are to follow both nation's traditions, and one of the first is to carve a betrothal necklace, and for each to receive an engagement dagger."

"Engagement dagger?" Yue wondered out loud at the same time Zuko said "Betrothal necklace?"

Arnook nodded. "I'll give you two a moment to talk this over. I expect Crown Prince Zuko will come to the North Pole for my daughter's 16th birthday?" The last part was aimed at Fire Lord Iroh.

"We will," He replied. Iroh turned to Yue and Zuko. "If you need any help, I am here." And with that, they were alone in the meeting room.

Zuko felt very awkward. "I guess we're engaged now." He really was engaged, to a beautiful woman who liked him as more than a friend. She built him up, she was more than just a princess, more than just an object for his affections. He was getting married, they would be together forever. But what if he found someone else? Then again, he had never felt this much love for a person, never felt this way before.

"I guess we are," Yue responded. She didn't sound happy, then again it was sudden but then again she also could just not want to be with him.

"Are you... okay with this? Being engaged I mean." He tripped over his words, unable to do anything but stutter out the question and avoid Yue's gaze. Despite this particular meeting room meant to comfortably fit 25-30 people at once, it felt too small and cramped. Zuko curled in on himself, his thoughts running too wild for him to pick out a single one to focus on.

Zuko couldn't see her reaction but he could feel her place her hands on his. "I... I guess. It's just all so sudden and I would rather have wanted us to do it of our own will, not because my father and Fire Lord Iroh said we had to."

That made sense. "I like you, Yue, and not just because it would be good for our Nations. I like you because you're you." He confessed. Yue smiled.

"I know, Zuko." She pecked his lips in a short kiss. It was sweet, just like her, and he flushed red.

"We're getting married." Zuko blurted out. Yue laughed, but it was almost sad.

"We are."

-

After a slightly successful hour looking through the scroll that Chief Arnook wrote out for Zuko, Zuko walked (stormed) to his Uncle's room. "Uncle, what do you think I should do?"

Uncle turned to face Zuko. "I don't know, nephew, in general, or right now?"

Zuko groaned. "You know what I mean! For Yue's betrothal necklace of course!"

Uncle stroked his beard. "You must look inside your heart, for the heart knows what the soul desires, and then you will know what you need to know."

Zuko blinked incredulously, then scowled. "That makes no sense!" He turned on his heel and calmly walked (stomped) out of the room.

-

Zuko sighed, staring at the stone for the fourth time, carving tools untouched. He needed something perfect, something that Yue would love. He turned to Mei in defeat, who had been watching Zuko's crisis unfold. "Mei, what do I do?"

"Give her a knife, girls like knives." They said immediately, sharpening one of their knives in boredom.

"Mei-"

"Preferably a small one that can fit in her boot. She'll love it." Mei continued.

"I meant for the betrothal necklace I'm working on."

Mei shrugged.

Zuko sighed in frustration. "I'm finding Ty Lee."

Ty Lee was by the turtleduck pond, hanging upsidedown by her legs and laughing as the turtleducklings nibbled on her braid. She noticed Zuko walk in, arms full of the carving supplies. "Hey, Zuko!" She expertly flipped herself down to the ground. Zuko was starting to see why he was an idiot for seeing why Ty Lee thought everyone knew she had joined the circus. Looking back on it, her outfits after that summer had probably been enough of a hint.

He sat down by the pond, letting the turtleducklings nibble on the carving tools, but keeping the stone out of their reach. "What do I do." Ty Lee followed suit, sitting down with her legs in a criss-cross position.

Ty Lee pondered for a moment, scrutinizing Zuko. Finally, she came to a conclusion. "Something with your hair. I get that you're trying to grow it out long but you still have a ways to go, and at this point, it looks pretty floppy and lifeless." Zuko groaned. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today.

“For a necklace.”

"Ohhhh." Ty Lee tapped her fingers on her leg, deep in thought. "Well, first of all, I think that you should combine your cultures. I know that the necklace carving itself is Water Tribe but if you only put a Fire Nation design on it or only a Water Tribe design on it, it's not really a combination of cultures more like you're just picking one or the other."

Zuko was shocked. "That's... that's the best advice I've gotten all day."

Ty Lee smiled. "Thanks, I think that you should think about how you feel with her. She makes you feel warm, more than firebending ever does, and you'd do anything for her." The words were phrased as facts, but they sounded like a question. Zuko nodded.

"Yeah, I do, I could name a million little things about her but I don't think any of it could describe her in the way I see her." He agreed.

Ty Lee nodded. "Exactly, you have to find something that represents you as much as it does her. Yue is almost like your twin, but you have differences. Like you're angry, she's calm, you're stubborn, she's selfless. These aren't bad things about you, but you balance each other out. You support each other in the ways you need to, and you neutralize the others. You're perfect for each other, and in your design, you can find something that represents that."

Zuko was quiet for a moment, taking it in. "Thank you, Ty Lee. That helped me a lot."

Ty Lee brightened. "I'm glad I could help!"

Zuko gathered the carving tools, filled with a new determination. He stood up. "I know what I need to do, thank you." He said as genuinely as he could.

"Seriously, though, do something with your hair!"

"No way!"

-

After pencilling in a design, rereading the instructions of how to use the tools for the 3rd time, and over two hours of painstakingly delicate work, Zuko had one betrothal necklace centrepiece. Zuko was not an artist, that was for sure, but he thought he did pretty well on the necklace. The shape was an oval, the main circle surrounded by two koi fish, one black and one white, just like the ones from the pond. He had fastened four balls of the carving stone on the top and bottom of each, creating a shape that Zuko found cool. The middle was mainly simple, again, Zuko wasn't the best of artists, a circle with a crescent moon laid in, the rest of the remaining circle a sun. Because Zuko wasn't going to make it completely bland and the carving was supposed to be unique, he made the top and bottom of the main circle have decorative swirls that framed the main design. 

All in all, he was exhausted but completely ready to give it to Yue.

This, of course, is when he realized he still had to fasten it to the strip of fabric so it could be an actual necklace.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkkkkkk." He groaned into his mattress. The things he did for love.


	2. Just Like Broken Glass To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yue makes and carves a dagger.

Yue knew it was improper but she slumped against the wall in the empty hallway. She had her face buried in her knees, trying to tame the panic racing through her. She was getting married, ever since she could comprehend it she had been terrified of it. Being chained to a person she didn't choose or, even worse, hated, it gave her figurative hives. She didn't like this, no, not at all. At least her father had discussed it with her, and she tried to convince him otherwise. It worked, thank the spirits, but she still didn't want it, wasn't the one to suggest it. Being married was the one curse she couldn't shake, she survived almost dying as a baby, survived Hahn being a jerk, survived the end of the war but for what, to be married to some jerk- no, Zuko wasn't like that. Yue felt ashamed. At least she had the luck that her father took into consideration _her_ feelings and that Fire Lord Iroh wasn't opposed to the situation.

Her thoughts trailed back to Zuko. It wasn't him that she didn't like, she liked him more than she thought possible, and, now that she was getting _married_ ( _Why did it always come back to that word?_ ) to him, she thinks that she could grin and bear it. For him, for her nation, and maybe for herself.

"Excuse me?" Someone said. Yue looked up to see a servant of the palace.

"Yes..?" She said, silently asking for the servant's name. 

"K- Aki." They bowed to her. "Fire Lord Iroh has brought in Master Piandao to assist in making an engagement dagger for Crown Prince Zuko," they said carefully, badly trying to hide how they were concerned about her state.

"Thank you." Yue greeted, standing up and smoothing her robes down. "Apologies for my state of disarray." She looked at them, debating in her head whether she should ask. "Could you walk me to him?"

She blinked in confusion. "Sure- Of course, Princess Yue." Their voice was formal at the end, scrambled to appear more dignified. Yue didn't mind very much. They were about her age, though a few years older. Unfortunately, that notion dragged her thoughts back to Hahn, and she became uncomfortable with the silence.

"Tell me about yourself," Yue said conversationally. Aki looked surprised to be spoken to and stiffened before continuing to walk slightly behind her.

"Well, I am the eldest s- daughter, and I have 2 brothers and a sister," Aki said briskly, clearly not expecting the conversation. "I started working here 2 years ago."

Yue nodded. "That is interesting, I am an only child, what is it like having siblings?" She asked. Siblings were usually a good topic.

Aki's features softened. "They're annoying, but I love them. Oh, we turn here." Aki pointed down a hallway, where a man was waiting with equipment clearly meant for smelting.

Yue smiled. "Thank you, Aki, I hope to see you again."

Aki bowed before leaving. "I as well."

Yue turned to the man. He was taller than her, his skin more tanned than her's, probably from being in the Fire Nation sun, and his hair was tied into a topknot. He bowed to her. "Princess Yue, allow me to introduce myself, I am Master Piandao, and I will be assisting you in the making of a dagger for your betrothed.

Yue pondered. "Thank you, if it is possible, may I ask, would it be possible for me to use walrus-narwhal bones for the hilt?"

Piandao nodded. "That would be a very special dagger, I'll see what I can do. However," He continued, and Yue felt her heart sink. "I am only here to help you with smelting the blade, I can't directly help you with the carving." Oh, that was better than expected.

"Thank you, Master Piandao." Yue took a step forward to examine the equipment. An idea was shaping in her mind, she thought about what Zuko would want. In the Northern Water Tribe, people used whalebone for knives, but since here they had steel and that would be much better as a metal, the whalebone would be best for the hilt. Something that, whenever Zuko looked at it, would remind him of her while remaining generally practical.

There was a casting mould on top of it, along with some others. Yue was enchanted by it, and could already see how it would form a sleek pattern that would fit well with the spiralled whalebone. Piandao followed her gaze.

"Excellent choice, I had a feeling you'd pick it," Piandao said, picking up a few sheets of metal. "It should take about.... more than half the day." Yue's eyes widened in surprise. That was a long time, but that also did rival the carving of a necklace. At least that explained why she started so early. Piandao placed the metals down along with more. "Now, we are going to make the steel and the pattern for it, I assume that you've never made steel before." Yue nodded. "Okay, that's what I thought. To make the type of steel we're going to use for the knife, we need to melt these together using the forge I've brought." Yue followed him as he led her to a set of what she assumed to be forges. 

"Am I going to have to do all of this by myself?" Yue asked, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. Piandao laughed.

"No, most people when they make their dagger usually only help in the making of it. However, I had a feeling that you'd want to do some of this on your own." Piandao said, continuing to walk around and gather things. He handed a pair of gloves to her.

"I would like to." She said, putting on the gloves. They were heavy, made of some kind of animal hide, obviously meant to withstand the heat of the forge. Piandao stopped moving and turned to her.

"I will try to keep you doing as much of the process as possible, but I'm not going to let you do all of it. When I am doing something, do not distract me, there will be fire and you will get hurt." Piandao was serious. Yue nodded.

"I won't." She assured. Piandao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, I've had my fair share of students _not_ follow those rules." Piandao didn't say more, but Yue could tell there was a story behind it. She didn't press for more. "Okay, the first thing to do..."

The next hours of labour were gruelling, and Yue was very happy that Piandao was helping her. She did not want to think of what would have happened if she didn't have him.

Finally, she was almost done and was sharpening the steel with a whetstone. Piandao had let her sharpen the dagger while he went to get the whalebone for the hilt. The steel was different than the metals she had seen before. It was silver but was intertwined with waves of black, vaguely reminding her of the ocean back home. She had never seen anything like it before.

"Damascus steel," Piandao said, interrupting her thoughts. "That's the type of metal you made."

Yue blushed. "Well you did most of the work-" She cut herself off at the pensive look on Piandao's face.

"One of the things that I've noticed in my best students is that they always put themselves down. Mei, they thought that they could never be a good fighter because they were a non-bender, now they're one of the best knife throwers I know, if not _the_ best. Crown Prince Zuko thought that he could never fight with swords because he wasn't good at his bending, you should ask him to show you his dual dao skills sometime." He smiled as if remembering something. He continued. "You shouldn't underestimate yourself, I think that you can be more than just a princess. You have a fighting spirit." Yue was shaken, in a good way. She paused, considering everything about herself, _could she really be more than just a princess?_

"That doesn't mean you can't stop sharpening the dagger." Yue blushed, going back to sharpening the dagger. Her hands were tired, but she could see that her hard work had not gone to waste. It was sharp, much sharper than when she started. Piandao hummed.

"I think that you're done, are you ready to attach the hilt?" Yue grinned.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

-

Zuko held the engagement in his hands when Yue arrived with the dagger in its leather sheath. Yue probably looked messy, she had worked up a sweat from working on the dagger in the sun all that time. "Yue!" Zuko broke into a bright smile when he saw her. 

Yue, despite her exhaustion, couldn't help but smile back when she saw him. He blushed and they both walked to each other. "I have something for you." She bit back a smile as she presented the dagger she made to him. She unsheathed it, letting the pattern of the metal glint in the soft light of the palace interior. The expression on Zuko's face was that of pure awe as his hands flapped at his sides.

"Yue, its beautiful." He gently took it out of her hands as if it was made of glass. "I love it so much." He marvelled, a smile on his face. "Oh! I have something for you too." He offered the betrothal necklace to her. Yue took it into her hands. The ribbon securing it was a deep violet-orchid purple, and the design on the stone was simply beautiful. She felt something swell inside of her, happiness and love.

"Thank you." The words weren't big enough for the feelings she felt. Zuko gently placed his hands in her's.

"Do you want me to help you put it on?" Yue nodded, giving the beautiful necklace to Zuko, who wrapped his hands behind her and tied the necklace on. After it was secure he didn't draw away, instead, keeping his hands on his shoulders in an embrace. She didn't want him to let go, she wanted this moment to last forever. Just them, together.

She put her hands on the sides of his face, and, taking a risk, kissed him.

This kiss was different from their first one, it was passionate, loving, soft and sweet all at once. She could feel Zuko holding her close. Yue hadn't ever felt this way before, she was sure that this was love.

They pulled away for air, staring into each other's eyes. His golden-brown eyes were only filled with love and awe.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." She smiled.

The moment was quiet and sweet. Which, of course, meant that something had to ruin it.

"What is this moose-bullshit?!" Someone Yue never wanted to see again said. They both whipped their heads to see Hahn standing in the hallway. He was angry, hands balled into fists at his side.

"Is this Hahn?" Zuko asked, voice strangely calm.

"Yeah I am, what's that have to-" Quicker than Yue thought possible Zuko was by Hahn and- _punched him in the face?!_

Hahn stumbled back and fell, unconscious.

Zuko turned back at her, grinned, and gave a thumbs-up.

Yue was dumbfounded. "Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always appreciated!
> 
> Fun fact: walrus whales actually did exist! I combined them with narwhals because ~why not~
> 
> Extra fun fact: I had a dream that I accidentally posted this early.
> 
> Also to all of you steel makers out there I *know* that making Damascus steel takes longer than only 15-20 hours but this is a world where dragons exist, I can bend the laws of physics a little.
> 
> Also the ending sucks but who cares this is my self indulgent fic

**Author's Note:**

> Yo in the future should I have Sokka/Yue/Zuko or just keep it Yue/Zuko?


End file.
